Convergence
by WinterChild98
Summary: For 10 000 years Zarkon has conquered much of the known universe. The Universe has chosen five champions to fight back, but getting all five in the same place at the same time proves more difficult than expected.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfiction, this prologue was mostly me getting a feel for writing the characters, and I'm eager to see where this story goes.**

* * *

Prologue:

Lance came from a big family. As the middle child of seven children, he learned at a young age that you had to be loud if you wanted to make yourself noticed. Lance loved his family, he really did, but sometimes it felt like he had a lot to live up too. Besides having three older siblings (two sisters and a brother), he had a plethora of cousins, both older and younger. There was very little that someone in his family hadn't tried to do or hasn't done before.

Most of his family were content with their life on Earth. They had everything the could ever want or need, why would they ever want to venture out into the dangerous unknown of space, there was enough to be done on Earth as it was. Most of Lance's siblings had ordinary dreams and ambitions, one wanted to be a doctor, another an accountant (though Lance could never understand how a person could actually WANT to be an accountant), the most far out dream was to be a pirate (to be fair, his little brother is six years old and still believes in the tooth fairy).

Unlike most of his siblings, Lance was an explorer. He wanted to go places, find things. He wanted new and exciting. Lance wanted to go to space. More importantly Lance wanted to be a fighter pilot. He hadn't yet told his family about his ambitions, unsure of how they would react, after all becoming a fighter pilot meant joining the Galaxy Garrison, which was rather far from home.

He still has the application from school, it's in his backpack, carefully folded, unlike so many of the crumpled papers all piled at the bottom. It's due in a week, if he doesn't get it in by then, he'll have to wait till next year. Lance can't wait till next year. The eagerness to do something, to get out there is vibrating in his bones. As much as he loves his family, loves his home, the idea of staying here forever is suffocating. Lance is restless.

Which is why he's on the roof. Lance is looking up at the stars, dreaming of the day where he'll finally go there himself. "Just tell them." Lance mumbles to himself. "Don't ask, tell. I mean if worst comes to worst, I can try and forge the signature, I doubt anyone will look too closely." Lance says, thinking out loud.

"Should I ask them with everyone around, or should I try and get them alone? Who am I kidding, I'll never get them alone, better just to ask when I next see them, no point in putting it off, it's not going to change the answer. TELL! I mean tell. I won't ask, I'll tell!" Lance continues babbling to himself.

"AGGGH!" Lance shouts, sitting up and pulling on his hair with his hands. Inside he can hear the shouts of his parents trying the wrestle the younger kids into going to bed. "I guess I should probably help them." Lance says, before beginning his climb down. He climbs on to the branch of a tree that hangs just above the roof, steadily jumping from branch to branch, until he's low enough to just jump the last few metres to the ground.

The first thing Lance sees upon entering the house is his father chasing his six-year-old brother, Robby, around the house. Robby is stark naked, complaining about how he doesn't want to go to bed. Unaware of his presence, Lance intercepts Robby, and sweeps him into the air. Robby immediately starts giggling.

"Lance!" Robby yells excitedly. "Are you gonna tell me a story?! Your stories are the best!"

"First you have to put your pajama's on, get tucked into bed, and then I'll tell you a story," Lance replies.

"Oh good. You caught him." Lance's father says wearily. "I'm getting to old for this."

"You're trying to trick me!" Robby exclaims. "I'm not going to bed!"

"Then you won't get a story. You do want a story, don't you?" Lance says, fighting back a smile.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Robby says vibrating with excitement. "Ok. Put me down! I'll go get dressed!"

* * *

Once Robby has fallen asleep, Lance get's the application form for the Garrison from his backpack, unfolds it, and brings it to his parents, who are talking in the kitchen. Surprisingly enough they're alone.

"Thanks for helping with Robby." His dad says as soon as he spots him. "He can be a handful sometimes, but he always listens to Big Brother Lance."

"Yep, he sure can." Lance replies, gathering his courage for the announcement he's about to make. "Mom, Dad. I want to join the Galaxy Garrison, I want to be a pilot." He announces.

"What?" His mom says in a rather hoarse whisper.

"I can't say I'm surprised." Lance's father says with a sigh.

"You're not?" Lance askes, shocked.

"Lance, Honey." His mother begins, having regained her composure. "From the time you could crawl you've been trying to explore, go places you really shouldn't. Your father and I both knew you would never be happy staying put."

"You nearly gave your mother a heart attack when you tried to climb into the lion enclosure at the zoo when you were three." His dad says with a smirk. "Space is a little farther than I expected, but we always knew you'd want to get out there and explore."

"So, I can go?" Lance askes hopefully.

"Yes, you can go." His dad replies with a sad smile.

"You have to write to us everyday though." His mother says, her eyes beginning to water.

"Ma, I'm not going to write to you everyday, not enough happens in one day to write a decent letter, besides, who actually writes letters anymore?" Lance replies. "They're a rather outdated form of communication, people call, they text, they email. How about this? I contact you some way once a week, it could be email, calling, texting, or an old-fashioned letter."

"My baby." Lance's mother replies, now crying, sweeping her son into a crushing hug.

"Ma. I'm not a little kid anymore, I'll be fine." Lance replies, hugging his mother back. His dad is signing the application form. "Besides I won't start until September, which is 10 months away."

"Oh, September will be here before you know it. Time passes faster than you think it does." Lance's dad says, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, now you're just making stuff up." Lance replies.

"You'd better put this somewhere you won't lose it." Lance's father says, handing him the signed application form.

"I will!" Lance says, smiling brightly. "Thanks Ma! Thanks Dad!" He shouts back as he runs up the stairs to put the form in his back pack, more excited than he's ever been in a very long time.

* * *

Hunk is nervous. Hunk isn't actually his real name, but he's been called that for as long as he can remember, he's not actually sure where the nickname came from. His mother starts to laugh hysterically every time he asks, so it's probably better left unknown. Hunk can't decide if he should go to the Galaxy Garrison or not. He knows he should, it's a good opportunity, and of the thousands of people that apply every year, only a hundred get it, if that. He's one of the lucky few that were actually accepted. He should be jumping for joy, accepting immediately, day-dreaming about his future, something. But here he is still deciding, he only applied on a whim, not actually believing he would be one of the lucky few to be accepted.

Hunk knows it would be a good learning experience, he could learn things there that he couldn't anywhere else. He can't help but worry though, every little thing that could go wrong is flooding his mind, panic and anxiety drowning out all other emotions and rational thought.

"You know I'm not actually a big fan of flying in general, I mean space is fine, I have no problem with space, but you know me, I get motion sick very easily, I mean going into space requires flying, so maybe I shouldn't go." Hunk rambles. He knows that he's rambling, but he can't seem to stop himself.

"Hunk." His mom says with a smile. "You know as well as I do that your "motion sickness" is more nerves than motion sickness. Just believe in yourself, you'll be fine."

"What if the food sucks? I mean space food is notorious for being crappy, but what if it's practically inedible?! What if the amount of food we eat is limited?! You know me, I eat quite a bit, I mean I can eat pretty much anytime, except when I'm flying, eating while puking is kind of pointless. Not to mention gross." Hunk continues his tirade, getting himself even more worked up.

"Even if the food is terrible, I'm sure you'll find someway to make it delicious. You're like Aunt Sam that way, able to make something good out of just about anything. Besides, you said it yourself, the Galaxy Garrison offers the biggest challenge for you. You'd be bored out of your skull anywhere else." His mom continues, trying to soothe him.

"I know. I know." Hunk says, finally beginning to calm down. "It's just. Just a really big step, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it."

"You'll do fine." Hunk's mom says, pulling him into a tight hug. "No matter where life takes you, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Mom." Hunk replies.

Now that he has calmed down, he can see that she's right. He's smart, smarter than a lot of other people, his teachers have always complained to his mom about his lack of focus. Hunk could never focus because he was always bored, most of the things he saw his classmates struggling to get, came to him easily. It resulting in Hunk not having very many friends. The Galaxy Garrison really was the best place for him to go if he was looking for challenges, the only problem being his anxiety.

* * *

"Keith. What happened?" Shiro asks gently. Keith has just come to him, covered in cuts and bruises, needing someone to help clean up, but unable to go to anyone else. Shiro was glad that he somehow managed to earn Keith's trust, that Keith was willing to come to him for help. He know's that Keith doesn't give his trust easily, but Shiro wishes Keith would get into less fights.

"I got into a fight. What does it look like?" Keith replies, wincing as Shiro gets to a bad cut on his cheek.

"It looks like you lost a fight. To half a dozen guys." Shiro says, trying to figure out what happened, without actually asking of course. He knows Keith, he rarely gives a straight answer about these kind of situations.

"There was only three!" Keith replies, not realising until it was too late that Shiro got exactly the information he wanted.

"What was it this time?" Shiro says with a sigh. He's worried what Keith is going to do when he's gone. He'll be leaving for the Kerberos mission in a few short months, just a week after the new term starts in September.

"The usual." Is all Keith says.

"You need to try and ignore them, I won't be here in a few months to patch you up. You have to be better than them." Shiro lectures. He know's Keith gets a lot of idiots spreading rumours and generally insulting him. Like Shiro, Keith was a pilot prodigy, which meant, that like Shiro, most of his fellow classmates didn't like him much.

"I am trying!" Keith protests. "I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring them too, but then-" He cuts himself off.

"But then what?" Shiro prods.

"But then they started bad mouthing you." Keith relents, speaking quietly. "Speaking badly about me I can take! I'm used to it, but you don't deserve that! You're the best pilot there is! They had no business talking trash about you. I wasn't just going to stand there and do nothing!"

"Keith." Shiro says, his gaze softening. "I don't care about a few idiots bad mouthing me, being the Garrison's star pilot tends to make people jealous." He says, putting his hands on Keith's shoulders. "What I do care about is you getting beat up. Promise me you won't get into anymore fights while I'm gone, please."

"I'll try." Keith promises.

"Good." Shiro knows that it's unlikely Keith will be able to avoid all fights, but it still feels like a weight has been lifted knowing that Keith will try. "Now. What movie do you want to watch, Star Trek, or Star Wars?" Shiro says, holding up the options in his hands.

Keith laughs at Shiro's nerdiness. "I would say they're pretty much the same thing..." Keith teases.

Shiro's scandalized look just makes Keith laugh even harder.

* * *

Katie is pacing. Matt and her father are leaving in a few short days. "I wish I was going with you." She says to her brother. "You have to promise you'll tell me immediately if you find anything! I mean if you actually find something, it could change life as we know it! I'm not going to be left out, imagine all the amazing opportunities there would be if any kind of life is found! If you find something and don't tell me, I'll punch you." She says, giving Matt a look.

"I will, I will. Promise." Matt replies, holding his hands up in front of himself in surrender. "I wouldn't keep something that important from my baby sister."

"I am not a little kid!" Katie protests.

"I know. You're going to be smarter than me one day, if you aren't already. Even if you are short." Matt teases.

"I'm not that short!" Katie says with a huff. "And of course I'll be smarter than you, it's what little sisters do." She says grinning.

"Just promise me you'll be safe." Katie says, a lot more subdued. Even though she won't admit it out loud she's worried about something happening to her brother and her father.

"I promise." Matt says with a small smile. "We'll come back, and if we don't, I'm sure you'll find your way into space to drag us back."

"You bet your ass I will!" Katie replies, the somber mood gone. "So, you better be back on time." She punches him in the arm. "You better have something good planned for your last few days on Earth."

"You make it sound like I'm dying!" Matt says with a laugh. "I'll be back in six months."

"You don't have anything planned, do you?" Katie says horrified. "Come on." She says grabbing his arm and dragging him out the front door.

"Where are we going?" Matt protests. "I still have to finish packing!"

* * *

In a castle a long way from Earth lay two people in a frozen slumber, unaware that the world they once new is 10 000 years dead. Many planets are left without hope, believing they will never be free, or not even knowing what the word free means. Zarkon has taken over much of the known universe, no one able to stand up to him, not since Altea. The Universe has done nothing but watched as free planet after free planet is taken over, enslaved. The Universe has been sleeping, quiet in its slumber. Well, no more.

* * *

Shiro dreams of people screaming, yelling out in pain. Everywhere he turns there is someone new begging him to help, but he's stuck frozen, unable to do anything but watch. These people come in all different shapes and sizes, most are aliens, faces and forms he doesn't recognize, but every once in a while, a human will show up, tears in their eyes begging for news about their family. Shiro wants to help them, which makes it even more painful that he can't. Suddenly there is a voice in his ear. _Wake._ It calls. Shiro wakes up. He's in a cell, aboard an alien space ship, Matt and Commander Holt are with him, still fast asleep, along with half a dozen different aliens, all still asleep. He's more terrified than he's ever been in his life.

Keith dreams of Shiro. He's being dragged down a corridor, glowing with a faint purple hue. He's being dragged by two large purple creatures, aliens. "We mean you no harm!" Shiro is shouting at them, but they continue to drag him down the eerie purple corridor. Next is an alien woman, with pointed ears and white hair calling out to her father. "We must fight!" She yells at him. He somehow puts her to sleep. "If all goes well I will see you again soon." He tells her lovingly. He never sees her again. She is frozen, far away. There is a voice in his ear, progressively getting louder and louder, until he can hear the words clearly. _Wake!_ It shouts out to him. Keith wakes up. He is alone in his room at the Garrison. The next day he finds out about the Kerberos mission. _Pilot error._ The words echo in his ears. He leaves the Garrison, and never looks back.

Katie dreams of darkness. Of a black-purple cloud covering planet after planet. On some planets people are screaming, begging for help, for aid. What's worse is the planets where they don't even scream, they just give up and beg for mercy from the dark force conquering their home. The hopelessness is overwhelming, it's suffocating. Just when she thinks she can't take anymore, there is a voice. _Wake._ It whispers. Katie wakes up. The following day she finds out about the Kerberos mission, she doesn't believe in the Garrison's excuse. She goes looking for answers, only to be banned from the Garrison a few short months later. Katie Holt needs answers, so she becomes Pidge Gunderson.

Lance dreams of families. Families calling out for there loved ones, families crying, mourning the dead. There is a little boy crying over his parents, all around him people are running trying to escape the horrors that are coming. The town burns. Lance wants to call out for someone, anyone to help this little boy. No one glances at him twice. It's only then that Lance realizes that all around him people are crying over loved ones, unable to move and avoid the slaughter coming their way. They all burn. Then there is a voice. _Wake._ It gently soothes. Lance wakes up. He finds himself face to face with his roommate, Hunk. There are unshed tears in both their eyes.

Hunk dreams of hopelessness. Of people who don't even know what the word free means. Their friends and family are taken away on a whim, never to return. No one fights, because they don't know anything else. It's everyone for themselves. They are ordered around like slaves, beaten, living in fear. This is all the know. It's not right, Hunk wants to cry out. This isn't right. _Wake._ A voice gently calls. Hunk wakes up. On the other side of the room, his roommate Lance lays, seconds away from crying. Hunk has never been so glad to not be alone.

On a planet in the far corners of the universe, a planet where sentient life has yet to step foot, a little girl wakes. Her eyes glow silver.

It's time The Universe fights back.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A child wakes up alone, her eyes glowing silver. She reaches out, stretching far and wide across the universe until she finds them, the five beings she's searching for. They are scattered, five beings on five different planets. She finds them, reaches out to them, and commands _wake._ Then, five sets of eyes lose their empty look. They have been sleeping, dormant for far too long, it's time to wake up.

The child's eyes slowly fade from their glowing silver colour into a light blue. She blinks, sitting up, taking in her surroundings. She's alone, surrounded by trees, of all different types and all different kinds. Looking down, she studies her small blue hands, watching how they move. She slowly gets to her feet; her legs unsteady from lack of use.

It's not long before hunger makes itself known to her, she stumbles along, her feet catching on roots, stones, and logs, basically anything that might litter the forest floor. Eventually she comes across a bush, some berries hang from it's branches, they are round, and pale yellow in colour. _Edible._ Her mind supplies, so she picks as many as there are and slowly begins to eat them, their sweet flavour exploding on her tongue.

It's not long before all the berries are gone, she licks the juice from her lips, she's still hungry. She moves on from the bush, walking far more steadily than earlier, now that she has gotten used to walking. She's more careful of her steps, she manages to avoid tripping on most of the obstacles in her path.

There is a tree in front of her. It is tall, with many branches, but on a branch far above her head hangs a large purple fruit. _Edible._ Her mind supplies once more. She stares at the tree, glancing up and down, trying to find a way to get the fruit. She runs up to the tree, and takes a jump, grabbing onto the lowest branch with her arms, eventually managing to pull herself up. She steadily climbs from branch to branch until she reaches the one with the large purple fruit. She crawls along the length until she comes to the fruit, she needs both hands to pluck it from its position, she takes a bite immediately. It's sweet, but tart as well, even tastier than the berries.

Before she can take another bite, there's a crack, and she finds herself slipping from the branch, plummeting to the ground. The breath gets knocked out of her. She lays on the ground, the purple fruit still clutched in her grasp. _Ow._ It takes a bit, but eventually she sits up, she is sore, but nothing appears damaged, even the fruit in her hands is fine. She gets to her feet, eating as she walks. She's not sure where she's going, but she continues to explore.

A creature jumps across her path, it freezes, its yellow eyes staring at her. It's skin a faint green seems to shift its shades depending on what plant it is near. Walking on four legs, but no tail. _Edible, but not food._ Her mind supplies. The creature scurries off quickly.

* * *

Time passes. She's not sure how much time, but it doesn't really matter. She's alone. There are many other creatures all around her, sometimes she talks to them, they never talk back, and they never stay. She is happy, but she is lonely. Sitting down, leaning against a rock near a cave where she spent the night, she reaches out, unaware of the faint silver glow her eyes have gained. She skims through minds and bodies, searching, searching, spending only seconds examining before moving onto the next. _There._ She finds what she is looking for, she reaches out surrounding the mind, before giving a sharp tug. Having completed her goal, she lets go, her eyes fading back to a pale blue. She gets up, searching for her next meal.

* * *

On a Galra ship, Shiro jerks awake, he's still shocked and horrified at the loss of his arm, by it being replaced by this strange prosthetic. He can't help but hate it. He doesn't know why, but he has an urge to get out of here, far more powerful than any want to leave he's ever had before. He must get out of here. Now.

A few days pass before a guard opens his door, to take him somewhere, either the Arena, or the druids. Neither option is good. He must get out of here. Acting on autopilot he strikes out with his new hand, it's glowing a pink-purple colour. The guard goes down, unconscious. Shiro takes off at a run. _I have to get out. I must get out._ He thinks repeatedly, drowning out all other thoughts. He destroys sentry droids, and knocks out all guards he comes across, though he doesn't come across many, his path surprisingly clear.

He turns a corner, and comes face to face with a guard. "Go!" The guard hisses. "Escape pods are that way." He gestures down a different hall.

"Thank you." Shiro says, surprised, before rushing down the hall indicated. He has no time to lose.

He finds an escape pod. He rushes in, using his Galra arm to close the door behind him. Shiro pushes buttons on the console, using all his skills as a pilot and what little knowledge of the Galra he has, to try and get the stupid thing to fly. He must have done something right because it takes off. He's out of the ship. He's free.

Shiro is knock out of his euphoria by Galran fighters shooting at him. "Crap!" Shiro exclaims, grabbing the controls trying to pilot this thing and get to freedom. He dodges blasts firing from all directions, one skims the pod sending it out of control. It takes a minute before Shiro can regain control, in a desperate attempt to get away, he heads towards an asteroid field, his smaller pod should be able to navigate better than the fighters.

He swerves by asteroid after asteroid, many of the fighters get destroyed in their attempts to follow. Shiro grins with success. Suddenly an asteroid appears right in front of him, he curses himself for losing focus. He manages to avoid colliding with it head on, it glances the side of the pod. The impact sends Shiro flying, his head hits the side of the pod, and everything goes black.

* * *

Shiro blinks awake. A pair of pale blue eyes hover just above his face. He jerks up in surprise. The only reason they don't collide is due to the quick reflexes of the owner of the eyes. His vision swims. "Ow." He says, rubbing a hand on his head. He sits up more slowly this time, his head still pounds, but he's no longer dizzy.

The owner of the pale blue eyes is a child. At least Shiro thinks it's a child, it's hard to tell sometimes with aliens. The child appears to be a little girl, but then again, it's hard to tell with aliens. She has long white hair, it goes all the way down to her waist, or what would be the waist if she was human, her species might have another name for it. Her skin is bright blue. He's encountered serval different species of aliens being a prisoner, but Shiro has never seen one with skin this blue. Other than her unusual colouring, the girl looks surprisingly human.

"Where am I?" Shiro mumbles, his voice weak and raspy.

The girl stares at him for a moment thinking. "Callisara." She answers after a moment.

"I'm Shiro." He says, trying not to scare her. "What's your name?"

She stares at him for a moment before replying. "I don't have one."

"You don't have a name?" Shiro frowns.

"No. I haven't needed one." Is all she says.

"Wait. You speak English?" Shiro questions, upon realising that the distinctive hum of the translator inserted into his brain is absent.

"I speak everything." She replies continuing to stare at him.

"What does that mean?" Shiro asks, confused.

"I speak everything." She says once again, giving him a look that seems to say _How stupid are you?_

"Where are your parents? Your family? Can you take me to them?" Shiro asks, thinking that maybe whatever species is present on this planet could help him get back to Earth. He has to warn them.

"I don't have any. I am alone." She says sadly.

"How about you take me to whoever your staying with, there must be some kind of village near by." Shiro says kindly.

"There is no one. I am alone."

"Are you telling me there's no one else on this entire planet?" Shiro askes, disbelieving.

"There is no one. Just me. And now you too." She says with a little smile.

Shiro's stomach then decided now would be the perfect time to growl with hunger. The girl disappears with a flash. Everything is quiet, and Shiro begins to wonder if he imagined the strange child. A few minutes later she reappears, several large purple fruits in her arms. She drops them into his lap. Shiro stares at them in surprise. When Shiro does nothing, she picks up a fruit and takes a large bite.

"Yummy. It's food." She tells him. "You're hungry."

Shiro picks up one of the large purple fruits, studying it, before taking a bit. It's good. It tastes kind of like a cross between a strawberry and an orange, but with the tartness of a lemon. Shiro eats three of them. The girl only eats one, the juicy fruit making her entire face sticky.

"How did you get here?" Shiro wonders now that his stomach is no longer screaming for food.

"I woke up here." She tells him.

"You just woke up here, alone?" Shiro asks, disbelieving.

"Yes." She replies simply.

"But you must have been somewhere before you where here. Little girls just don't appear out of no where." Shiro says questioningly.

The little girl frowns. "I… I don't know." She says hesitantly.

"You don't remember?" Shiro asks in sympathy. He knows he was kept prisoner by aliens, he knows he was captured, but the details are fuzzy, he can't even remember how long it's been.

"No." Is her only reply.

"How long have you been here?" Shiro wonders, she must have been very lonely.

"Time is meaningless." She says cryptically.

"That's helpful." Shiro mutters under his breath. "Okay." He says once again talking to the child. "I can't just go around calling you Kid, so how about I give you a name?"

"All right." She says staring at him intently. She's waiting for him to giver her a name Shiro realises. Her focused attention on him has made his mind go blank, he can't think of anything.

"How about Callie?" He finally decides on. "You said this planet was called Callisara, so how about Callie? For your name I mean."

"That is acceptable." She says indifferently.

"Do you know where my pod is?" Shiro asks. If the pod isn't damaged too badly he might be able to repair it, and get out of here so he can warn Earth.

Callie doesn't say anything, she just points behind him. Shiro looks, behind him, there is a large gauge in the ground, like a claw scraping away at the surface. Not far from where he's sitting, maybe 10 meters, lays what's left of his escape pod, it's smoking and sparking. Very, very broken. Debris from the pod appear to be littered all along the gauge. There is no way he'll be able to fix the pod.

"Callie." Shiro begins. "I can't stay here. I must find a way off this planet. I need to get back to my own planet and warn them about the Galra. They have no idea what's out there. Is there any way for me to get off this planet?"

Callie frowns for a moment before speaking slowly. "You cannot stay." She says agreeing with him. "But you must wait. Now is not the time."

"What do you mean?" Shiro asks. He's trying not to shout, but he's growing frustrated with all the cryptic answers he's getting. "Is there a way off this planet or not?"

"Not yet." She replies, unfazed by his tone. "When the time is right we will leave."

"All right." Shiro says, taking a deep breath trying to get his frustration under control. It isn't Callie's fault. There is something strange about her, but she is innocent. He also can't leave her on her own, she doesn't deserve to be alone again. If she is right, and something happens that allows him to leave, he'll have to take her with him, no matter how dangerous it is.

Callie smiles brightly this time, looking and acting more like a kid than before. "Come on." She says grabbing his hand. "I want to show you my cave."

Shiro gets up, he's sore all over, but nothing seems to be broken, he takes her hand, and lets her lead him to her cave.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Allura woke with a start. "Father!" She cries out, falling to the floor in surprise. "Father?" She calls out once more. She looks around, she's still in the castle, but it's quiet. Too quiet. Lights suddenly power up now aware of her presence. She's in the cryo room of the castle. The cryo room. "How long have I been asleep?!" Allura immediately rushes to the control panel. She's pressing keys and buttons faster than she should, but she has to know.

"Princess?" A voice calls out.

"Coran!" Allura exclaims looking up. At least she's not alone. "We've been in cryo sleep. I have to know how long!" She says continuing to jab at the buttons.

"I know." Coran says gently, standing beside her. "But afterwards, we must eat. It's been too long with no food."

"10 000." Allura reads out the number in shock. "It's been 10 000 years." Her voice cracks.

"What?" Coran sounds just as shocked as Allura.

"Everything is gone, everyone we've ever known. Altea is gone." Allura breaks down, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "What will we do?"

Coran pulls her into a hug. "Whatever we have to." He soothes.

It takes several minutes before Allura can regain her composure. "The Galra Empire." Allura says, her voice weak from crying. "They've been conquering for 10 000 years. We have to stop them."

"How?" Coran askes.

"Voltron." Allura says firmly. "We've woken for a reason, the only way to stop the Galra empire is Voltron."

"We can find the lions easily enough, but what about paladins? There are only two of us, and there is no guarantee any of the lions would accept us." Coran tells her gently.

"I can not, I will not sit by and do nothing. We will find paladins, and we will find the lions." Allura states determinedly.

"Throwing together a group of paladins so haphazardly…" Coran breaks off.

"It will be difficult. I understand that, but what other choice do we have?" Allura speaks, trying to make her point clear.

* * *

A Galra cruiser orbits a planet, the atmosphere foggy with red-orange clouds. A Galra solider walks into a room, another Galra, this one with a metal arm, and a glowing monocle replacing one of his eyes, paces the length of the room.

"Sir." The solider reports. "A transmission from Emperor Zarkon for you."

The Galra commander leaves the room without a word. He enters another room, this one with a large monitor on the screen, displaying the face of a Galra, one who exudes power.

"Commander Sendak." The face on the monitor speaks, his voice rough. "There have been reports of Altean energy becoming active in your sector. Allura, daughter of Alfor still lives. You are to capture her, and bring her to me. Alive."

"Yes, Lord Zarkon." Sendak replies, obediently.

"The activation of energy came from a small planet called Arus. Capture Alfor's daughter, kill everyone else." Zarkon orders.

"Repid Sa." Sedak answers as the transmission is cut off and the screen goes blank.

"Set course for planet Arus!" Sendak orders. The soldiers around him scramble to obey.

* * *

"Princess, we might have a slight problem." Coran states.

"What is it Coran?" Allura wonders, walking up to see what he's looking at.

"There's a Galra cruiser in bound. They should be here in about… 20 vargas." Coran tells her, counting with his fingers.

Allura curses. "That means we have 20 vargas to get the castle operational. Can you do it?"

"It won't be pretty, and I don't know how long it will last, but we should be able to get away." Coran replies.

Both of them set to work immediately, they don't have anytime to lose. Part of Allura was glad that they were so busy, it meant that she didn't have time to dwell on everything that has happened to her, everything that has changed. "Quiznak!" She exclaims, her hands too small to fit into the gap to re-align the barrier crystals. Without the particle barrier they would be next to defenseless.

Suddenly she hears squeaking, along with a gentle hum in her mind. Four mice scamper into her view, and then into the gap. She watches as they realign the barrier crystals. Once the mice finish they scamper into her waiting hands.

"Thank you." She says softly. The hum in her mind changes, the mice are thanking her. Allura blinks. "I can understand you." She's astounded. An image of the pod she spent the last 10 000 years in is shown in her mind. "Were you… in the pod with me?" She questions. The quiet hum confirms her suspicions. "Our minds are connected." She says, incredulous. "I've never heard of anything like this before." She's amazed. The hum changes once again, reminding her of the deadline. "Right. I can wonder about it later, we have work to do."

An alert beeps on the monitor. Coran looks up from the repairs he was working on. "Quiznak!" He cries upon realizing what it was telling him. "Princess." He calls, pushing an intercom button. "The Galra cruiser is here 5 vargas early, it seems my counting was a bit off."

"Can we launch the castle?" Allura demands.

"Normally I wouldn't recommend it, but we don't really have a choice, do we?" Coran responds, wearily.

"No, I'm afraid not." Allura responds confirming his suspicions. "I'm on my way to the control room."

Upon arriving at the control room, Allura placed her hands on two short pillars on either side of her. Lights and control panels all around the room began to light up with power. "Particle barrier up." Allura states, as a barrier around the castle appears, it flickers for a moment before stabilizing.

"The Particle barrier seems to be holding for now. They have an ion cannon, we won't be able to hold long against them. We need to get out of here." Coran reports.

"Noted. Now let's see if we can take off." Allura says. She concentrates on using her energy to power the castle, to force it up into space, where it belongs, where it feels at home. The castle shudders around them.

"Take off seems to be working, it's a little unstable, but should do the trick." Coran tells her nervously.

The castle suddenly begins to lift from the ground, the four pillars igniting from the bottom. It takes a moment to get moving, gradually rising higher, until it reaches a certain height. It begins to take off quickly, pushing itself off the planet, through the atmosphere, into space.

"Good news is we made it. Bad news, we're face to face with a Galra ship." Coran says, trying to seem cheerful.

There is another beep, with an alert appearing on the console Coran is stationed at. "Princess, there's an incoming transmission." Coran reports.

"Put it through." Allura orders. "Let's see what they want."

A face appears on the screen, the Galra's smile makes Allura's skin crawl. "Princess Allura." The Galra drawls. "Surrender immediately or suffer the consequences."

"Never." Allura says defiantly.

The Galra gives a twisted grin, his pointed teeth barely visible. "Hard way it is." He speaks, the transmission breaking off. The Galra ship immediately begins firing on them, the castle shaking with every blast.

"We have to get out of here!" Allura says, doing her best to pilot the castle away from the blasts. "I'm going to create a wormhole." The two pillars where Allura's hands are resting glow for a moment before fading out. "It's not working!" Allura says, trying not to panic.

Coran checks his console. "The scaultrite lens are out of alignment. We can't create a wormhole."

"What?!" Allura questions.

"It was one of the systems we didn't have time to check." Coran tells her, apologetically.

The castle shudders a few more times before the particle barrier flickers, and goes not. "The barrier is down! Fire all weapons." Allura says desperately.

Weapons begin to fire from the castle. They manage to take down several small Galra fighters flying around them, but the Galra cruiser is still firing at them, relatively undamaged. "We're losing weapons quickly!" Coran informs, as a fighter gets a lucky shot and disables some of their weaponry. The battle lasts only a couple minutes, it's not long before all the castles weapons have been damaged beyond use.

The castle shudders. "Galra soldiers have boarded." Coran reports.

Allura is worried, they are out matched, out gunned, and have little chance at escape. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm the panic crawling through her. "Our only chance is to wormhole." She speaks slowly. "Coran, go and get those lenses aligned, we'll worry about the Galra's on board as we come across them. I'll stay here and make sure no Galra takes control." Allura says, her panic slowly receding now that she has a plan.

"Right away, Princess." Coran replies before hurrying out of the control room.

* * *

Coran rounded the corner to find himself faced with three Galra soldiers. "Oh quiznak." Coran mummers, as the three Galra soldiers point their weapons at him.

"I surrender! You have taken me by surprise, I can't possibly fight back." Coran yells at the soldiers. The three soldiers glance at each other, unsure of what to do.

"But if you hadn't caught me by surprise, you would have been in for quite the fight. I would have come at you like that!" Coran declares, making jabbing movements with his hands. "And then I would have done this!" Coran waves his arms up and down. The Galra soldiers look at him like he's insane. They slowly began to make their way towards him. "And then this." Coran adds his legs into the sweeping motions he's making with his hands.

"Is there something wrong with his brain?" Coran hears one of the Galra soldiers mummer, obviously having never encountered an Altean before, and therefore having no idea of how good his hearing is.

"I would have done this next!" Coran says, kicking out his foot, almost hitting the advancing Galra soldiers, causing them to jump back in surprise. "And then I would have done this." Coran smirks pulling a lever on the wall beside him. A sudden harsh blast of air comes from a nearby vent, a vent that the Galra soldiers are standing right beside. All three of then stumble over each other and are sent flying to the side, right through an open door.

Coran rushes over, slamming his hand on the control panel next to the open door, causing it to close sealing the three Galra in. "Unfortunately for you three you chose the wrong man to attack." Coran declares, straightening his shirt, before typing away at the control panel.

The Galra soldiers inside are yelling at Coran, demanding that he release them. Then a computerized voice starts up. "Air lock opening in 5. 4." The Galra look at each other in horror. "3. 2." They start bagging on the door demanding release more frantically. "1. 0." The air lock opens, sending all three soldiers flying into space.

"Now. Time to fix those lenses." Coran talks to himself before continuing his way.

* * *

Allura ducked down as an explosion forced the doors to the control room open. Shrapnel flying everywhere, a piece of metal hit her cheek, cutting it open, causing blue blood to pour from the wound.

"Hello Princess Allura." Sendak enters the control room. "Emperor Zarkon wants to talk to you." He says before launching an attack at her.

"He's. He's still alive." Allura murmurs, her shock preventing her from blocking Sendak's first attack. The punch sends her flying across the room, she lands hard on the floor.

"I'm afraid I won't be going willingly." Allura says, regaining her senses. She stands up, wiping the blood from her check. She gets into a fighting stance before launching herself at Sendak. She may be a princess, but she's also a warrior.

Sendak dodges her first attack easily, using her momentum against her, sending her towards the opposite wall. Allura manages to catch her balance and rolls to her feet. This time Sendak sends his fist towards her, she dodges, sending her own fist to his unprotected side. Her punch lands, but doesn't do much damage.

"You're going to have to do better than that." Sendak taunts, his eyes alive with the thrill of the fight. He kicks her, sending her flying towards a control panel. She lands hard, dazed for a moment. As Sendak walks up to her slowly, confident in his win. She spies a small cylinder lying on the floor, it had been knocked loose from its container when she hit the panel. In a flash she grabs it, hitting a small button on the side. A long staff expands. She sweeps it into his legs, causing him to fall over.

"You're the one that needs to do better." She says, spitting out blood from her mouth.

He gets up quickly, launching another attack at her. She continues to swing her staff, launching attack after attack. She lands some blows, but not enough to do any real damage. Sendak's prosthetic arm is a powerful weapon, it deals blows ten times more powerful that the ones from his real fist. In terms of physical strength, Allura doesn't stand a chance, she needs to rethink her strategy.

Allura swings her staff, it goes too wide and she knows it, with a smirk, Sendak catches it with his prosthetic arm, snapping the top off. Her reach is shorter, but the end is now sharp and pointed. This time instead of sweeping her staff, she jabs it. Sendak, surprise by this unexpected move tries to block the staff with his real arm. The sharp tip digs into his skin, causing a deep cut.

"Spoiled brat!" Sendak yells at her. His dark purple blood splashing onto the floor.

Sendak made a mistake breaking her staff, now even her sweeping slashes can cause damage, the sharp edges cutting into his skin. The battle is a blur, they're on more even footing now that Allura's weapon is causing lasting damage.

Suddenly she gets an idea, seeing an opening she takes it, sweeping her staff through the glowing ball where Sendak's mechanical arm meets the shoulder. There's some resistance, but Allura manages to force the staff through. The arm disconnects entirely from his body. Using his surprise to her advantage, she kicks him in the middle of his chest. He goes flying and lands exactly where she wants him. Slamming her hand on a nearby control panel, a force field goes up around him. He slams his remaining hand on the force field, nothing happens, not even a flicker.

"You're not getting out of there until I let you out." Allura tells him, wiping more blood from her check. Now that the adrenaline is leaving her body, she aches all over, parts of her she didn't even think had nerves hurt. She leans against a control panel with a huff, careful not to hit any of the buttons, tuning out all the profanities Sendak is yelling at her.

The ship shudders, and Allura sees that the attached rebel fighters suddenly separate from the castle, a short while later Coran calls her over the coms. "The lenses are aligned. Let's get out of here!" Coran reports.

Allura heaves herself over to the two pillars, where she positions herself, placing her hands on top. Concentrating on manipulating her energy, a wormhole appears in front of the castle. "Let's get out of here." She murmurs to herself. The castle heads into the wormhole, towards safety.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As the sun was rising over the desert sky, a figure left a small shack where he had been staying for about a year. He gets on a hoverbike; something he had cobbled together with any bits and pieces he could find, and takes off across the desert.

Ever since Keith left the Garrison, the meager excuse for losing contact with the Kerberos mission echoing in his ears, he felt drawn out into the desert. It was as if something was calling out to him. It was dark by the time he had found the shack, looking like it had been abandoned for a long time. He did his best to repair it, make it habitable again. Sand and dust always getting everywhere, making it impossible to keep clean.

Keith has been searching the desert. He's not sure what he's looking for, but he knows he'll know it when he sees it. Several months ago, he came across some caves with strange cave drawings that seemed to depict a blue lion. It was strange because lions have never lived in this area naturally, he checked, and the carvings were old, very old. Keith had no idea how he would determine the age of the carvings, so he contented himself to knowing that they were very old.

The strangest part is that there was no record of these carvings existing, the desert may not be very popular, but it is by no means unexplored. Keith can't help but wonder how these carvings managed to stay undetected for so long. The carvings weren't just in one cavern, but everywhere throughout many caverns in the general area where he first stumbled upon them. An energy seemed to hang in the air around them, drawing him in. It made it easy for Keith to lose track of time, studying the strange carvings.

Keith had been going out almost everyday since he first found them, to study the carvings, to explore the area, to see if he could find more, but today he had a different mission. The previous night Keith couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried, it was like something kept jerking him awake, like something wanted him to witness something. Giving up on sleeping he went outside, to look at the stars, they always calmed him down somehow. After being outside for only a few short minutes, a blinding light filled the sky. If one didn't know better, they would assume it was a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. Keith couldn't explain it, but he somehow knew it wasn't a meteor, he marked roughly where it should have landed and drifted off to sleep. Now that the sun is starting to rise, he's going to find out what exactly happened last night.

It takes about an hour before he comes across any evidence of something falling from the sky. He's flying past on his bike, a bandana keeping the dust out of his mouth, goggles protecting his eyes, when he sees it. Scorch marks on a rock, it's one of the large outcrops, at the very top, barely visible, but because he is looking for it, Keith can just make out the black soot on the top, pock marks where rock has been gouged away.

He continues on his path, moving much slower now, not wanting to miss anything. The evidence of the falling object becomes visible on rocks closer, and closer to the ground. He eventually comes across a clearing in the rocks, inside is a small crater, everything around it is scorched black. This is clearly where the mystery object landed. Strangely enough, the crater is empty, no sign of whatever fell from the sky. Most people would assume that whatever it was had completely burned up, or that someone else had gotten there first and taken it away. Keith couldn't explain it, but somehow, he knew neither of these things had happened.

There is a series of caves and cavern openings littering the face of the rock outcrop in front of him. Something about them draws Keith forward. He enters the nearest cave; the darkness quickly surrounds him. Looking around, he is unable to see anything. He checks outside quickly, making sure no one else is around. This time when he enters the cave, a small flame dances at his finger tips, it's warm light illuminating his dark surroundings.

It had happened three months after he left the Garrison, after he had that strange dream. He'd woken up from a nightmare, to find his hand on fire. Panicking he ran around his house looking for anything to put the fire out with. Eventually he ran outside, stuck his hand in the sand, and let it stay there till the fire was out. It was only after he had removed his hand from the sand, seeing it unhurt did he realize that the fire hadn't burned him, in fact, it had felt pleasantly warm.

Keith thought it was just a dream, or a hallucination, or maybe a weird one-time experience that can't be explained, only it happened again the following night. He didn't know what he had been dreaming about this time, but his entire arm was engulfed in flames. Once again, he rushed outside and stuck his arm in the sand. Without oxygen the flames quickly burnt out.

Keith had no idea what was happening to him, every night he woke up on fire, flames covering a little more of his body each time. The fire never hurt him, it always seemed pleasantly warm. He eventually started sleeping outside, fearing he would burn down his only shelter. Realizing that this wasn't going away, he decided to experiment. After making sure no one else was around, he concentrated on trying to light his right hand on fire. His entire body bursts into flames. Since he was panicking, it took awhile for him to put the flames out, but he did manage to do it, without jumping in water or smothering himself with sand. Similar to how he forced the fire into existence, he forced it out. Keith was completely unharmed, his clothes on the other hand… Let's just say it was an uncomfortable ride back to his house.

It took an additional two months of practicing, training, until he felt he could control his new-found ability enough that he wouldn't set the house on fire in his sleep. He has by no means mastered this ability, but Keith has found, if he keeps his emotions in check, he can control it fairly easily.

Now that he can see the cave he's in, he starts to explore. The cave goes far back, far enough that Keith can't see the end. The walls are free of any blue lion carvings, but he still feels like something is there. It isn't long before Keith feels like he's being watched, it's a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.

"Whose there?!" Keith calls out. Then he hears something, a rustling of dirt on the cave floor. "Show yourself!" Keith demands.

He suddenly feels like something is standing behind him. Keith slowly turns around, and finds himself face to face with a large green thing. "Gaahh!" Keith yells out in surprise, the fire on his finger tips winking out. As soon as his fire goes out, a faint green glow appears, it's holding something, it's illuminating the cave with the green light. "Who are you?!" Keith yells.

The green creature tries to respond, at least Keith thinks it does. There is a bunch of moans and clicking noises that Keith figures must be some kind of communication. "What the hell are you saying!?" Keith demands. "I can't understand you!"

Faster then Keith thought possible the creature moves, injecting something into his neck before he can react. It's a stinging pinch that doesn't last long. Keith's hand goes to his neck grabbing it. "What the hell did you give me!" Keith demands, trying to keep his panic down, numerous worst-case scenarios flitter through his mind.

"It was just a translator, calm down." The creature replies.

"What?" Keith asks, his mind still processing what is going on. "I can understand you now?!"  
"I told you. I gave you a translator." The green alien, Keith realizes it could be nothing else, maybe a government experiment, but why then would it have a translator, replies.

"You can't just go around injecting things into random people!" Keith yells. "What if they had an adverse reaction too it, people can be allergic to metals you know, you could have killed me."

"I didn't think of that." The alien replies. "You Terrans are so strange."

"Who the hell are you?" Keith says slowly, having grabbed his knife, and is now pointing it at the alien. It is only now that Keith realizes it has six arms. The arms are a lot thinner than a human's, probably weaker too, each arm has three long fingers. Its skin appears to be more like the skin of a frog than a human.

"I'm not here to hurt you." It says nervously. "I crashed. I lost control. I mean you no harm!"

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Keith asks suspiciously.

"I have no reason to hurt you. I need your help to repair my ship." It continues nervously.

"Name." Keith repeats, poking at the creature with his knife.

"Melvar! My name is Melvar!" It says scared.

Keith puts down his knife. The alien is strange, that's for sure, but he doesn't seem to be a threat. It's only now that Keith realizes that it isn't wearing any clothes. The alien is completely naked. "Where are your clothes?" Keith asks slowly.

"You mean coverings." Melvar laughs, a lot calmer now that a knife isn't pointed at him. "I have no need for coverings. My skin is thick!" Melvar uses one of his right hands to pound his chest.

Keith has no idea how to respond to that. He eventually decides to just ignore it. "Are you an alien?" Keith asks, needing conformation.

"Of course!" Melvar says boastfully. "I come from the planet Telvaner. It is much more hospitable than this great ball of dirt, not to mention we are far more advanced than your primitive species. What else could someone as great as me be?!"

Keith twitched. Melvar was really starting to get on his nerves now. _Patience yields focus._ "About a year ago, my species sent out a space ship to a moon orbiting a planet at the edge of our solar system. Do you have any knowledge about what happened to it?" Keith says, he needs answers, it might be a long shot, but hopefully Melvar will have something he can go on.

"Nope." Melvar replies cheerfully. "Why would I know anything about such a primitive species?"

Keith takes a deep breath, trying to control his temper. "Do you know of anyone that might have knowledge about it?"

"Oh no, nobody wants to monitor a system as primitive as this one. Your species can barely leave your planet!" Melvar responds. "Well, the Galra might, but they're nasty folk, you don't want to go anywhere near them if you can help it, they see the entire universe as theirs!"

"Is there anyway I can contact the Galra?" Keith asks. "I need to find out what happened to that ship."

"Nope! I know nothing! Stop asking so many questions." Melvar responds fearfully.

"Look." Keith begins. "How about this. I'll help you repair your ship, you'll need supplies, and I can get you them. If you show your face in any town, the military or the police will be called, and you'll be locked up and experimented on. I'll help you do this, if you let me talk to some of these Galra." Keith knows that the Galra are bad news based on how scared Melvar is of them, but they might be the only ones that knows what happened to Shiro, and Keith isn't going to give up until he finds him.

Melvar seems to consider him for a moment. "Tell me. Is it normal for your species to produce flame from their finger tips?" Melvar questions.

Keith is surprised, so he answers without thinking. "Well, no. It's a fairly recent development, I've never heard of anyone else being able to do something like it." It's only afterwards that he realizes that maybe he shouldn't have told Melvar that.

"Interesting." Melvar replies. "I'll take the deal!" This time he speaks far more cheerfully. "My ship is this way." Keith follows the strange alien. He needs answers, and if putting up with this weirdo will get him answers, he'll do whatever it takes.

* * *

"I need more piping!" Melvar tells him when Keith shows up. It's been two weeks since Melvar crashed, and Keith heads out to the site to get the list of everything Melvar needs, bringing some food for the alien with him. "Your food is terrible. How your species can survive like this is beyond me. It's so chunky, how can you digest it?" Melvar complains. It seems that every morning Melvar has found something new to complain about. At this point Keith just wants the alien out of his hair.

"We chew are food first, with our teeth." Keith replies, annoyed. "How close are you to finishing your repairs?"

"Chewing food? What strange creature's humans are?" Melvar says. "Repairs should only be another day or two."

"You said that five days ago." Keith says, annoyed is pretty much his constant mood these days.

"There were some unexpected repairs. You're lucky I can repair my ship at all, it was a rather rough landing you know." Melvar tells him. "It's really a day or two this time."

"Is more piping all you need? "Keith asks. He doesn't want to come back with piping, only to find out there's more he has to pick up.

"Yes, yes." Melvar replies. "I have all the other materials I need."

"Good." Keith says. He turns around and gets on his hover bike. He stops by his house first to pick up everything he needs for his trip to town.

Buying supplies for Melvar has wiped out all of Keith's savings, he's taken to doing odd jobs around nearby towns for what ever money he can get. It'll be worth it. Especially if the Galra Melvar mentioned on the first day know what happened to Shiro. Keith will do whatever it takes to find his brother.

It takes Keith awhile to find all the different types of piping Melvar needs, especially since Melvar's description of what he needs is unclear at best. He does manage to find everything, he loads it all onto his hover bike and rides out to where he knows Melvar is hidden.

When Keith arrives at the crater, it's almost 3 pm. There is no sign of Melvar. "Melvar?" Keith calls out. "I've got the piping." Silence is all that answers Keith. He heads into the cave where he knows Melvar's ship is hidden. Using flames at his finger tips to light his way, he makes his way towards the ship. When he reaches it, he extinguishes his flame, whatever light source Melvar is using has lit the cave in a green glow. "Melvar!" He calls out once more. There is no sign of the green alien. He walks around the perimeter of the ship. He finds nothing to indicate where Melvar has gone.

Suddenly Keith feels like someone is behind him, before he can turn around, there is a pinch in his neck. Turning around, his movements already growing more sluggish, he sees Melvar, standing there holding a syringe. "Melvar? What… What did you do?" Keith says, his vision growing fuzzy.

"Your help has been invaluable." Melvar responds. "But finding one of the Chosen, is too good an opportunity to just ignore it. I am a trader after all. It's a simple sedative, you should wake up in several vargas."

"Bastard." Is all Keith can say before the drug takes over, and everything goes dark.

* * *

When Keith comes to, he head is pounding, his mouth dry. His arms are tied together behind his back by metal cuffs. As much as he tries he can't get free. He's laying on the floor of a ship, Melvar's ship he quickly realizes. There is cloth in his mouth gagging him. He's in space. Keith can feel the hum of the engine through the metal floor. That bastard. Melvar had tricked him, sending him out for pipes he didn't need, to catch him off guard when he came back.

Keith then remembered what Melvar said before he succumbed to unconsciousness. Something about being chosen. Keith has no idea what Melvar meant, but whatever it was, this is not what Keith had in mind when he decided to help a crashed alien. Keith can see Melvar sitting in a chair in front of him, they haven't even noticed that Keith is awake.

"This is Melvar." Keith hears Melvar say cheerfully. They're talking to someone Keith can't see, probably through some kind of radio transmission. "I have quite the interesting package, I'm sure you'll be willing to pay quite the price for it."

"This better be good Melvar." An unknown voice answers.

"Ah. Commander Tilak." Melvar says, obviously recognizing the voice. "It's been awhile. Trust me, this time I've found something invaluable."

"It better be, or you'll find yourself in a slave camp, or worse." Commander Tilak threatens.

"You will not be disappointed." Melvar responds. With all Melvar's confidence, Keith can't help but notice a hint of fear in their voice.

Keith can feel the ship begin to slow down, they're docking. Once their docked Melvar turns around, and sees Keith awake. "Ah. I see you're finally awake." Melvar says, using several of his arms to lift Keith to his feet. "You might want to cooperate, or the Galra might see you as too much trouble." Melvar sneers.

Melvar forces Keith to walk down a ramp, into what looks like another larger ship. Waiting for them is a bunch of metal droids, with four furry purple aliens that Keith realizes must be Galra. "I know Commander Tilak will be very interested in what I have to offer." Melvar tells the Galra soldiers around them.

The Galra soldiers lead Keith and Melvar down a glowing purple hallway. Keith frowns. This is far too similar to that dream he had about Shiro. It can't be a coincidence. The Galra definitely know something about Shiro. Unfortunately, Keith can't ask anything due to the gag. One of the soldiers keeps prodding Keith in the back with his gun, making Keith stumble.

"Keep moving scum." He says every time Keith trips. His movements are a bit slow and sluggish, whatever he was drugged with is still wearing off. Eventually they come to a room with a Galra that is obviously someone of authority. It must be Commander Tilak. The soldiers lead them in, before leaving, closing the door behind them. It's just Keith, Melvar, and Commander Tilak.

"What have you brought me this time?" Commander Tilak questions. He reaches out a clawed hand and grabs Keith's face. Keith tries to jerk away, but Tilak's grip is firm, his sharp nails digging into his skin. "He doesn't look like much."

"He might not look like much, in fact he comes from a rather primitive planet, but he's one of the Chosen." Melvar speaks. There's that word again. Chosen. Keith has no idea what it means. He wants to yell out, and ask what the hell they were talking about.

"One of the Chosen." Tilak seems shocked, finally letting go of Keith's face. He can feel blood welling up from where the Commander's claws dug in. "How can you be sure." Tilak has turned his attention onto Melvar.

"I saw it myself! Flames appearing from his finger tips. This is not something his species should be able to do." Melvar declares, shifting on their feet nervously.

Without warning Tilak punches Keith in the face, unable to use his hands to catch himself, Keith falls to the floor. Melvar squawks in surprise, but does nothing. Tilak begins to kick Keith with his foot. Keith struggles to get up, to do something, he has to fight back. He feels his hands begin to heat up, the metal cuffs around his wrists begin to melt. He manages to pull his hands free and catches Tilak's foot with his hands, flames still dancing from their tips.

Tilak snarls as Keith begins to melt through his boot, picks Keith up by the neck using only one hand, choking him. Keith can't breathe. Stars begin to dance in his vision before Tilak finally lets go. Keith falls to the floor gasping for breath. Several guards and droids rush into the room, their guns all pointed at Keith.

"The Guardian of Fire." Tilak draws slowly. Keith still has no idea what he means, only that it has something to do with his abilities. "You've definitely found quite the prize this time!" Tilak laughs.

"Oh yes." Melvar replies eagerly.

"I was going to kill you after this meeting, as payment for all the useless crap you've sold me in the past, but seeing as this is quite the prize, I think I'll let you walk away with your life, though should we cross paths again, I can't guarantee I'll be so generous." Tilak says, giving Melvar a toothy grin, showing off all his sharp canines.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I'll just be on my way then." Melvar speaks fearfully, before rushing out the door, nobody stops him.

"Someone get me the quintessence draining cuffs. I don't want him melting his way out of a cell before we can deliver him." Tilak orders.

"Yes sir!" One of the soldiers replies before leaving. Keith has no idea what quintessence is, but he knows he's in more trouble than he's ever been in before.

A few minutes later that guard returns with the cuffs, attaching them around Keith's wrists before hauling him to his feet. As soon as the cuffs go around his wrists, Keith feels tired, like all the energy is taken out of him, he can barely stand.

"Take him to a cell. And set course for the Command Centre!" Tilak orders. "Emperor Zarkon will be very pleased to have matching set."

A gun digs into Keith's back forcing him forward. It takes all of Keith's remaining energy to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. He falls several times, a guard forcing to him to his feet with a snarl each time. Eventually they reach a metal door, one of the guards opens it before shoving Keith inside. Keith falls to the ground; the guards close the door behind him.

He lays on the ground, with his hands tied behind his back, he doesn't have the energy to sit up. Everything is sore from his beating. He knows he has bruises along his throat, and probably several other places as well. He shifts onto his side, trying to relive the pressure on his hands. He winces when he feels pain from his ribs. Their either fractured or broken, with his hands cuffed, he can't check which it is. Eventually, he's too tired to keep his eyes open. His last thought before falling asleep, is wondering what Tilak meant by a matching set.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter mostly focuses on Lance and Hunk, but there are brief appearances from Allura, Coran, and Keith. Four chapters in, and still no Pidge/Katie, she should make an appearance in the next chapter though.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Chapter 4

For the past several quintants, Allura has been living off little to no sleep. She spends her quintants helping Coran repair the castle to the best of their abilities. There is only so much they can do with their limited supplies. She finds her self back in one of the cryo chambers, where Sendak, and the other Galra soldiers are being kept. She needs to make sure he's still there. What little sleep she does get is punctured by nightmares, Altea burning, Sendak finding a way to wake up and take over the castle, Zarkon killing her father.

Allura shakes her head, clearing the fog her nightmares have left in her mind, and goes to find Coran.

"Coran." Allura calls out upon reaching the bridge. Coran's head appears from where he had stuck it in a console for repairs. He has large bags under his eyes, probably getting as much sleep as she is. "I think it's time we start finding the lions, I can't sit still anymore." Allura says desperately.

Coran looks like he's going to argue with her, before sighing. "I suppose you're right, we need to start looking for the lions, and paladins, if we're ever going to stand a chance against Zarkon." It had been a shock for them both, finding out that after 10 000 years, Zarkon was still alive. They had many theories, each more ridiculous than the last, but the truth was they just didn't have enough information to figure out how Zarkon has remained alive so long.

Allura walks up to her control console, the two pillars on either side, she places her hands on them and concentrates. She reaches out to the lions, trying to connect. Within moments a map of the known universe appears in front of her, four locations blinking, indicating the presence of a lion. The Black Lion, was already in the castle, just as she knew. Allura frowns, staring at the map. Only four locations were shown.

"Coran." Allura speaks slowly. "I can't find the Red Lion. It isn't showing up on the map."

"It must be another malfunction with the castle." Coran sighs. "I'll try to find what's wrong when I have the time, for now, let's focus on the other three."

Allura studies the map, twisting it to see new angles. "It looks like the Yellow Lion is closest to our current position. We'll get that one first."

"All right then." Coran says cheerfully, the former weariness gone from his voice. "Let's make the jump."

Placing her hands on the pillars, Allura sends out her energy, a swirling vortex appears before them, a wormhole. "Time to save the universe." She whispers to herself, as she pilots the ship in.

* * *

Lance woke with a start. He sprang to his feet, and started to get dressed. "Hunk. Hunk!" He says, trying to wake his roommate.

"Lance." Hunk murmurs groggily. "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning, but that's not important. Come on!" Lance says eagerly.

Hunk sits up, and glances at the clock before collapsing onto his bed with a sigh. "And I need to get up because?"

"I can't really explain it, but there's somewhere we need to go!" Lance whispers excitedly.

"All right. Where?" Hunk asks, getting up, yawning.

"No idea." Lance says before rushing out the door.

"Of course not." Hunk sighs before following him. "Can I get a general direction at least?" Hunk askes following Lance as they duck around corners, making sure there are no patrols coming, they aren't supposed to be out of their rooms at this time.

"That way!" Lance exclaims, pointing at a wall. "We have to get outside first, but then we go that way." He says making the gesture once again. He's bouncing up and down, _he's like an excitable puppy,_ Hunk thinks.

Somehow, they manage to get outside without running into any patrols, staring out at the vast desert in front of them, "Which way are we going?" Hunk asks suppressing a yawn.

"That way." Lances says pointing straight ahead, where there is nothing but desert for miles. "But we'll need something to get there, walking on foot is not going to cut it…" He says with a frown, looking around thinking.

Lance shoves his shoulder to get his attention and points towards a jeep sitting in the yard. "You can hotwire that right?" Lance asks before dragging Hunk towards the machine.

Lance jumps into the driver's seat and begins to rummage through the cabin. "What are you doing?" Hunk wonders.

"Looking for keys." Lance says like it's obvious. "Figured I'd make sure they weren't in the car first. Now work your magic!" Lance says opening the door before sliding into the passenger seat.

Hunk sighs before climbing into the car and begins to hotwire it. "First, we sneak out of our rooms, waaaaay past curfew, and now we're stealing, great, just great." Hunk mutters under his breath the entire time. Its not long before the car rumbles to life.

"Move over, I'm driving." Lance says with a grin. Hunk quickly moves out of the way and into the passenger seat.

Lance puts his foot on the gas, and as the gates are closed this time of night, he just drives straight through them. "Holy cow!" Hunk says terrified. "Sometimes I wish I didn't know you!"

"Your life would be so boring without me!" Lance says with a laugh, as the speed through the desert.

"Can you at least slow down! I want to get where ever it is that we're going intact!" Hunk clutches the sided of the car, the bumps and extreme speed are starting to make him nauseous, his mind going through ever horrible scenario they could die in.

"Don't worry about it. There's nothing around for miles, what are we going to hit?" Lance tries and fails to assure Hunk. Upon seeing Hunk clutching his stomach "If you're going to throw up, try and do it over the side." Lance is used to Hunk's motion sickness by now, after all he has had to run simulators with him.

"Cliff!" Hunk can feel his face pale. Lance is looking at him, not at the road, well desert, they technically aren't on a road. "There's a cliff! CLIFF!"

Lance turns to face the cliff a little to late, he swears as the jeep goes over the edge.

"If we die I'm going to kill you!" Hunk yells as he clutches at the car. They car hits the ground, and everything goes black.

* * *

Keith blinks his eyes open. He doesn't know how long he's been asleep, the constant darkness inside his cell makes it hard to tell how much time is passing. Whatever these cuffs he's wearing are designed to due, he's always so tired now, his mind is foggy, and he can barely think straight. He hasn't eaten since he was tossed in here, at least he thinks he hasn't eaten, his memory's a little hazy.

Melvar. He remembers, Melvar is why he's in this situation, Melvar traded him to some less than friendly aliens. Suddenly he hears heavy footsteps approach the door, the door swings open letting in the harsh purple light, Keith blinks trying to get his eyes to adjust.

"Get him up!" A voice orders, footsteps enter his cell, a pair of hands grabs him by the arm and hauls him to his feet. Keith as to hold back a groan, the sudden movement jarring his injuries.

"What, no breakfast?" Keith taunts as the soldier holding his arm drags him out of the cell.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut." The owner of the voice tells him before slamming the butt of his gun into Keith's gut, knocking the breath out of him. "Keep moving Whelp!" He says uncaring of Keith's lack of oxygen.

Galra. Keith remembers suddenly, they're called Galra. He struggles to keep his feet beneath him as the Galra soldier that's gripping his arm drags him down the hallway. Everything aches, and his head is spinning, despite sleeping for however long he slept, he's exhausted, as if he hasn't slept in days. It's because of the cuffs, even though he can't remember how he knows the cuffs are responsible.

He's dragged down too many hallways and corners to keep track of until he's brought to a large door. There are guards in front of the door, they open it as soon as he approaches, and the soldiers drag him in. Inside he sees the Galra commander he encountered before, Tilak he remembers, the one who scratched his face, but it's clear that Tilak isn't the one in charge. There's another Galra, he's sitting on a throne, a freaking throne. He's bigger than any Galra Keith has encountered previously, and his eyes are glowing violet. Standing next to the throned Galra, is a hooded figure, Keith can't see enough of them to determine gender or species.

"The Guardian of Fire. One of the Chosen." Tilak says as Keith is dragged in front of the throne. Somehow Keith manages to stay on his feet when the soldier that was holding him lets go. He glares defiantly at the Galra on the throne.

"What do you want with me!?" Keith demands. He would have taken a step forward, but he's pretty sure if he tries he'll fall over.

"You will show respect to Emperor Zarkon, Filth." A soldier says, hitting the back of Keith's knees, making him fall over. Despite lacking the use of his hands, he somehow manages not to face plant into to floor.

"Prove it." The throned Galra, Zarkon Keith presumes, says, not even having to raise his voice.

Tilak gives a nod in Keith's general direction, and a soldier removes the cuffs from around Keith's hands. Energy suddenly flows through him, the tiredness that had plagued him is all but gone, he can think clearly again. Keith rises to his feet, no one stops him. Looking around he spots, Zarkon, the hooded figure, and Tilak near the throne, there's one guard standing near him, presumably the one that removed his cuffs, and was responsible for putting him on his knees. There are several other guards milling about the edges of the room, none of them seeming very concerned.

Keith lunges at the guard standing near him, punching him in the face before sweeping his feet out from underneath him. As soon as the guard is done Keith sprints for the door, within seconds the previously inactive guards are coming at him. He's not going to make it to the door before the guards catch up with him, having no other choice, as outnumbered as he is, he wills fire to his hands, it's not long before they burst into flames. He leaps at the guard closest to him, the guard screams in pain as the fire burns his skin. Keith's not sure how many guards he's managed to take out when his fire suddenly goes out. He can't breathe. Keith struggles to take a breath, his lungs are working, but he's not getting any oxygen. The last thing Keith sees before passing out is Zarkon standing in front of his throne, his hand out in Keith's direction.

* * *

When Hunk comes to, the sun is beaming down on him, and his head hurts like hell. Groaning as he peels his head from the dashboard it takes him a second to remember the events of the previous night. "We are so dead." Hunk says to himself, there is no way Lance is going to be able to talk them out of this mess. Not only did they break out of the Garrison past curfew, they stole a car, and proceeded to crash said car in the middle of the desert.

Lance. Hunk turns his head and sees his friend out cold, his head pressed against the steering wheel. "Lance?" Hunk says, his voice raspy. No response. Hunk undoes his seat belt before trying to open the passenger side door, after some wiggling the door falls off. "Not what I was going for but all right." Hunk mutters. He stumbles out of the car; the world spins a bit before settling down again. Hunk gropes his way around to Lance's side of the car. He opens the door, only to have this one falls off into his hands as well, with a sigh he just throws it as far away from him as possible, the car is wrecked.

"Lance?" Hunk repeats, gently shaking his friends shoulder. He gets no response. What if he's dead? Panic courses through Hunk, he places his fingers on Lance's throat and to his relief there's a pulse. "Thank god." Hunk almost collapses with relief. Hunk shifts his friend away from the steering wheel and undoes his seat belt.

"Lance?" Hunk tries once again to wake his friend. Once again, he gets no response. The sun is beating down on his neck. Deciding that they need to get out of the sun, Hunk lifts Lance onto his shoulder and begins carrying him towards a nearby cave. Hunk sets Lance down against a wall of the cave and begins to look him over for any serious injuries, other than minor cuts and bruises the only thing he finds is a wound on his head slowly leaking blood, probably the reason behind Lance's continued unconsciousness. Hunk takes the bandanna wrapped around his own head and ties it to Lances head, it's the only thing around that would make a suitable bandage. Hunk settles against the opposite side of the cave, waiting for Lance to wake up, hoping that someone will find them before they die of dehydration.

* * *

Lance wakes with a groan. His head hurts, like his little brother decided to use it as a set of drums. "Lance?! Are you all right?" He hears a voice. "Stupid question, of course you're not all right." Lance feels a hand on his shoulder, blinking his eyes open, he comes face to face with a very worried Hunk. "Lance?" Hunk repeats.

"Hunk?" Lance asks. "What happened?"

"You woke me up in the middle of the night insisting that I come with you somewhere, I hot wired a car, and we drove off a cliff. It hurt, a lot, by the way. I woke up first, and when you wouldn't wake up, I carried you into this cave. You're not hurt anywhere besides your head, are you? I tried to bandage it, but I'm not sure if I did a good job." Hunk explains, concern plain on his face.

Lance reaches a hand up to touch the bandage Hunk mentioned before. "Is this your bandana?" Lance says with a frown.

"I didn't exactly have anything else." Hunk replies exasperated. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I don't think so." Lance says, using the wall of the cave to help him stand up. "Are you hurt?" Lance asks, studying his friend. Knowing Hunk, he would be so worried of Lance's injuries that he would forget his own.

"No, I'm fine. Just cuts and bruises." Hunk replies.

Lance can feel something calling out to him. He's had the feeling for the past few days, but it was general and unfocused. Last night he had a dream, the details have faded from his memory, but when he awoke he knew where to go. And right now, they need to go through the cave, all the way to the back. "Come on." Lance says walking deeper into the cave.

"What? You just woke up from being unconscious for who knows how many hours, and you want to go deeper into the random cave, that we have no idea where it goes, when chances are both of us have some kind of concussion?!" Hunk rants but follows Lance anyways.

"I'm fine now. We have to go deeper, I can feel it."

"What do you mean you can feel it?" Hunk asks hesitantly.

"For the past few days I've had this weird feeling of something calling out to me, and last night I finally knew where to go." Lance explains.

"You're just following some strange feeling, a feeling that lead us off a cliff?! How do you know this isn't going to get us killed?!" Hunk worries.

"Look," Lance says beginning to get impatient, "Last time I had one of these feelings it lead to us discovering our superpowers!" Lance explains, forming a chunk of ice in the palm of his hand. He breaks off a small piece and sucks on it. Lance offers the rest to Hunk.

"But that was completely different we didn't have to steal a car and go wandering in the desert!" Hunk says, taking the ice from Lance, and sucking on a small piece himself.

"Just trust me!" Lance practically begs. He has to do this. "You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course. You've had my back far too many times for me to not trust you. I just don't like the idea of wandering aimlessly into the desert." Hunk replies.

The cave reaches a dead end, no where else for them to go. The feeling Lance is getting is telling him that the need to go through this wall, go beyond the end of the cave. "Can you move this?" Lance asks gesturing to the wall.

Hunk studies it with a frown. "It's a bit big, I've never had to move something this size before."

"Maybe try moving it in small pieces?" Lance offers.

"It's worth a try." Hunk replies. He reaches his hand out towards the wall, cracks begin to form in the rock, with a gesture, a small chunk of rock floats away from the wall. Hunk puts it in a corner.

Hunk slowly begins to remove chunks of rock from the wall, removing each chunk only reveals more rock. Lance leans against a wall, watching Hunk work, he didn't know how thick the rock was, but it seemed like they were going to be there for awhile. As Hunk works Lance creates more ice for them to suck on in order to stay hydrated, Hunk is starting to sweat quite a bit, but he doesn't complain at all, just keeps moving rock.

An hour passes, maybe two, Lance has never had the best sense of time, but this time as Hunk removes a rock, it reveals a gap, a continuation to the cave system. "Finally!" Lance pumps a fist in the air, ecstatic. It doesn't take Hunk long to widen the hole enough for them to fit through.

Lance crawls through the hole first, when he enters the new cave, he squints in the darkness. "I think there are carvings on the wall." Lance is awed.

Hunk follows Lance through the wall, "I think your right." Hunk says squinting.

They walk a little further into the cave, Lance reaches up and touches one of the carvings. It glows blue, all the carvings light up, most depicting a lion. "Wow."

"Holy crap." Hunk speaks at the same time as Lance.

A crack echoes throughout the cave, Lance and Hunk look at each other in horror before the floor beneath glows blue before giving way beneath them. They fall through the floor, neither one of them capable of coherent thought. They land on some kind of rock slide, before continuing their decent, the slide ends with an upward curve which sends the two of the crashing into a small pool.

Lance sits up, spitting water out of his mouth, Hunk is beside him in a similar position. It's only then that Lance realises there's a glow, emitting a soft blue light, enough that they can see. Looking up Lance sees a giant, mechanical, blue lion. It's surrounded by an equally blue force field. The strangest bit is that it seems to be watching him, the call Lance has been feeling the past few days is suspiciously absent, instead there's a sort of pleased hum in the back of his mind.

"Is that a lion?" Hunk says, echoing Lance's thoughts.

Lance gets up, walking towards the lion weaving side to side, "Do you get the feeling that it's watching you?"

"Uh. No." Hunk replies, giving Lance a look.

Lance finds himself standing right in front of the force field, "Maybe we should knock." Lance says, knocking a fist against the force field. He had intended it as a joke, but to his surprise the force field flickers out, the lion lowers its head, mouth open.

Without think twice Lance climbs inside the lion, "Are you sure going inside the strange robot is a good idea?!" Hunk calls out, before following Lance inside. They find themselves in a cockpit, and Lance sits down in the pilot's seat, hands on the controls.

"It's a ship." Lance says with glee. He moves the controls, and the lion takes off breaking through the surrounding rock with ease, flying into the open sky.

"What are you doing?!" Hunk clutches at the back of the seat.

Lance is it with a barrage of thoughts, ideas, images. Somehow, he knows exactly how to fly this ship. "This is awesome!" Lance exclaims, as they do loopty loops, and circles before flying out into space, joy fills Lance, he never thought flying an actual ship could be so different from a simulator. "That's not good." Lance says realising what the ship is trying to tell him.

"What now?!" Hunk says, sounding a little hysterical.

"There's an alien ship headed to Earth, I think she wants us to stop it." Lance says forcing his voice to remain steady.

"She?" Hunk's hysteria seems to be growing. "What do you mean she?!"

"The ship! It's like, feeding ideas into my mind, somehow she can communicate with me." Lance tries to put the feeling into words, but it's not entirely accurate. Within seconds they can see a large, dark ship with purple-pink accents, it's clear that it's approaching Earth. It's not long before the ship begins to fire at them. Working more instinctively than anything, Lance attacks the ship, the metal lion's claws tearing open the side.

"Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap." Hunk repeats, clutching at the chair. The ship stops firing at them, and is no longer headed towards Earth, but instead is following close behind them as they fly further away.

"At least they're no longer head towards Earth." Lance says, thinking of his family.

A swirling vortex appears in front of them, edged with white and intricate designs. "What is that?" Hunk asks.

"Not sure, but unless you'd rather hang with these guys I suggest we go through it." Lance says looking at the ship still pursuing them, though for some reason it has stop firing.

"Just go through it." Hunk says defeatedly.

"I guess we're skipping class tomorrow." Lance says before flying the lion through the vortex. He's trying to keep things light, trying to hide how scared he is from Hunk. They disappear in a flash of light.


End file.
